


denim skies

by kogaritsu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Western, M/M, Slow Burn, but only while i rewrite it <3, cowboys and saloons, kaorus an outlaw, rating might bump with the second part only because of dark themes, rei is well ;), violence tag is precautionary its mostly just blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-04 02:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21189719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kogaritsu/pseuds/kogaritsu
Summary: Kaoru, thoroughly distracted scraping blood and dirt out from underneath his nails, simply grunted in acknowledgement. Rei paused at the door, looking over his shoulder with a pitying stare, then turned back to dig in his bureau. In his peripheral vision, Kaoru watched something silk spill over the top drawer, shoved back in before he could discern what it was. What a strange thing for a barman to own.





	denim skies

**Author's Note:**

> preview of something ive been working on since like july hehe 
> 
> part two coming eventually hopefully soon

Rei balanced a few bottles against his chest, creeping along the aged floorboards to prevent them from creaking too loud. The bin on the bartop was nearly full, so he had to be extra careful piling bottles in, but he was always careful. When he turned to retrieve more from the far tables, he was struck by a mental game of “spot the difference.” The tables and chairs were where he’d left them, as were the broom and mop. In the space underneath the old jukebox slept the family of cats he let in every night. The obvious difference, he figured, had to be the stranger dripping blood all over the freshly mopped floor. He was alarmed, obviously, hardly dressed to be robbed. Nothing about the intruder suggested ill will, however. 

“We’re closed for the evening, you’ll have to come back tomorrow if you’re looking for a drink.” He got no answer, but it was worth a try.

Instead of offering an answer, or a verbal one at least, the stranger leaned heavily on the front table. The only thing standing between his wobbling knees and the floor was a strong breeze, and Rei felt a certain amount of pity. Now, he could feel pity for just about anyone and anything that looked at him sideways. He could admit it’d be his downfall one day; that being said, the bleeding stranger wheezing in the parlor was about as pathetic as a box of kittens, and Rei was a very weak man when faced by someone in need. In the back of his brain, Keito told him to walk backwards until his back hit the bar and phone for someone to come collect the obvious criminal that’d wandered in. Anyone with half a brain would think to, after all.

Rei kept a healthy distance, but he did move closer against his better judgement, listening for any indication he should yell for help. He heard nothing outside and nothing from the intruder, aside from the steady _drip, drip, drip_ of blood leaving his shoulder. What had happened was very clear to him now that he was looking for answers. There’d been a gunfight, and that could only mean trouble if Rei allowed the man to stay. Keito would be very angry with him if bandits ransacked the saloon, even if the man that’d broken in was begging for help with everything but words. There was, he decided after quite a long moment of thought, only one necessary question to ask in this case.

“Were you followed?” His mouth asked, but his mind wracked his internal blueprint to remember where the upper level first aid kit was hidden.

“I think so.” The stranger, an outlaw, Rei thought, nodded his head, eyes barely focused.

He could be dangerous. He likely was dangerous. It was a real shame that Rei left his self preservative skills by his bed when he woke in the mornings. Voices echoed down the boulevard, callous and mean.

One, two, three glances at the door and Rei was rushing forward looping an arm around the man’s waist, dragging him to the stairs as quickly as he could. Downstairs, a bottle shattered against the floor, and Rei dreaded the scolding he’d get in the morning. The stairs complained under their weight, rail swaying under their hands. As they turned a corner, the deadweight on his left shoulder let out a pained groan, clinging to the back of Rei’s shirt and alerting the entire town that he was there. There was no way Keito, or even Izumi, could sleep through the racket they were causing, but their doors remained shut tight. He was content to call it a miracle and shoved the intruder into his bedroom before his luck turned on him. 

His floorboards, much like the rest of the building, creaked and whined when a body was dropped on top of them, futon shifting with the recoil. Pale yellow sheets were quickly soiled with blood and dirt, not that Rei particularly cared at that moment. This was as far from his job as anything could be, but his nerves itched at the thought of being helpful. So he shed his outer shirt, pressing it to the open wound and taking the outlaws hand to press on it. Brown eyes rolled like marbles in the moonlight.

“Stay here.” Rei said, but had no expectation that his guest would be able to get up in the time it took him to retrieve the first aid kit.

As predicted, the outlaw on his futon hadn’t moved a muscle by the time he returned, still half conscious and oozing blood all over the sheets. Rei’s shirt was soaked through, charcoal tinted an ugly maroon. There was no way to wash it, he supposed, and planned to toss it with the garbage in the morning, assuming his under the table surgery went well. If not, he’d have to wake someone up to help drag him out back, and Rei really didn’t want to get on Izumi’s bad side. The bleeding was slower now, though, so he hoped he could take out the bullet and stitch up the outlaw’s shoulder pretty quickly. He wasn’t very knowledgeable in doctoring wounds, but he knew well enough, he thought.

While Rei had never extracted a bullet before, he’d picked enough glass out of wounds to know which tweezers were useful. Thin tipped and worn at the joint, they fit perfectly in the curve between his thumb and forefinger. Before he bothered to start digging around in a stranger’s chest cavity, though, he hugged said stranger’s torso to his chest and used his bloody, discarded shirt from the floor to bind his arms behind his back. Just to be safe. After a split second of thought, he dragged the outlaw upright as well, propping him against the wall in hopes of keeping him comfortable. It likely did fuck-all for comfort, but at least there was a much lower chance of anyone choking on vomit.

Straddling the stranger’s legs, he got to work, tearing the fabric of his shirt to get it out of his way. The skin around the bullet wound was inflamed and angry, leaking runny blood down the curve of the outlaw’s chest. Without further ado, Rei dug his tweezers in, feeling with the narrow tips to find the bullet. It was very easy to find, lodged in the soft tissue between his chest and shoulder, and very hard to dislodge. Blood traveled in thin streams up his wrist as he worked the bullet free. There was enough blood that Rei was beginning to fear his guest wouldn’t survive the night, chewing on the inside of his lip and rocking back and forth anxiously.

It was a very long process, as he knew that if he just started pulling and yanking, he could cause much more permanent damage. So he took his time twisting and easing it out, only vaguely paying attention to how much of a mess he was making. 

At last, the bullet popped free with a wet sound, bringing along a new wave of blood running from the hole. Rei shucked off and held his undershirt against it, pressing with all his weight as he felt blindly for a needle and thread. His fingers were so slippery at first that he could hardly thread the needle. When the thread was through, though, he worked efficiently, getting to work closing the wound before it could bleed any more. About halfway through the sutures, the outlaw stirred, shifting underneath Rei and causing his stitches to tug. In a panic, Rei slapped one hand over his captive’s mouth and the other over the half stitched wound.

“Shhhh, I’m almost done,” He whispered, hand muffling words of alarm and fear, “If I stop now, you might bleed out.”

His words, or perhaps his tone, managed to pacify the outlaw long enough to complete the line of sutures. They were clean enough, if a little uneven. Whether or not they’d hold, however, was a story only dawn could tell. He sat back, admiring his work from a distance and wiping gently at the beads of blood. His guest was hissing in pain, writhing like a worm on hot wood, so distraction was necessary, though not the kind he was trained for.

“What’s your name?” Rei asked, shuffling off of him and balling up his undershirt to be tossed.

“Kaoru.” Came a scratchy reply.

“Pretty name,” The bottom drawer of his bureau opened silently, and out of it came a small box that rattled when it moved, “Open wide, you’ll feel better.”

A small white pill sat on Kaoru’s tongue for a long moment, before his mind caught up and he swallowed it dry. The taste was horrible, and the relief wasn’t immediate, but he knew that the pain would abate within the hour. The box was returned to its hiding place, buried in miscellaneous articles of clothing. Rei glanced at the door, then out the window, seeming to be weighing decisions. In the light, Kaoru noted, his eyelashes looked longer than humanly possible, making him wonder if his painkillers were laced. A quiet sigh drew his eyes from eyelashes to pouting lips; nothing good crossed his mind, so he found an interesting scuff on the wall to stare at.

“I ought to clean you up, huh? Stay put, I won’t be long.” And then he was gone, silent feet on swaying stairs.

Kaoru dozed for a moment, he must have, because he only blinked four times before Rei was knelt before him again. His hands were washed, tinted a bit pink from scrubbing, and he’d found a clean washrag somewhere that he was soaking. Sleepily, Kaoru reached for him, dropping his hand to the futon when Rei returned to his lap anyways, pinning his shoulders to the wall again. There wasn’t enough time to ponder why the weight was comforting.

“You’ve got lots of explaining to do,” Rei hummed, wringing the warm water out and dragging the rag gently against Kaoru’s chest, “But I reckon it can wait ‘til you get some more rest.” 

“How generous of you.” Kaoru used his limited mobility to rest a hand on Rei’s arm, squeezing appreciatively.

Quietly, since they were still hiding, Rei laughed, scrubbing more dried blood from Kaoru’s skin, “You’re in enough pain already; you don’t need any more from me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kaoru winced, as if remembering the gunshot wound, “Don’t suppose I could trouble my sweet, lovely nurse to kiss it all better, could I?”

Rei rolled his eyes, but kissed the tips of his fingers anyway, laying them gently over the thin layer of bandages. To his right, the floorboards squealed, and the smile Rei wore warped into a wince, shoulders slumping some. His rolling maneuver out of Kaoru’s lap was effortless, putting him on his feet like a housecat. The rag was dropped back into the bowl and the bowl pushed to a corner invisible from the doorway. 

“You’ll have to stay quiet for a while,” He didn’t bother worrying about the mess still smeared up his arms, digging in a pile of laundry for a long sleeved shirt, “Sleep off the medicine for now, I’ll get you some more after my bath later. Sound good?” 

Kaoru, thoroughly distracted scraping blood and dirt out from underneath his nails, simply grunted in acknowledgement. Rei paused at the door, looking over his shoulder with a pitying look, then turned back to dig in his bureau. In his peripheral vision, Kaoru watched something silk spill over the top drawer, shoved back in before he could discern what it was. What a strange thing for a barman to own.

“I’m locking you in, just so no one disturbs you.” Rei left his room then, lock clicking and jiggling behind him.

Kaoru watched the rising sun shine through the cracked window, casting shadows that looked like cobwebs. Sleep came rather easy, plagued by meddlesome thoughts that asked him what would happen if he was found. Judging by the stern words that floated up the stairs, he didn’t want to know.

**Author's Note:**

> socials are mihouji feel free to talk to me im fun


End file.
